idiopathic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- idiopathically adverb
Etymology
Origin of idiopathic
Explanation
When your doctor isn't sure why you're sick, she might describe your illness as idiopathic, doctor-speak for "of unknown causes." The medical term idiopathic comes from Greek roots: idios, or "one's own," and pathos, "suffering" or "disease." The literal meaning is something like "a disease of its own," or an illness that isn't connected to any particular cause. This is often the diagnosis doctors end up with after ruling out a lot of known conditions or diseases, and it's an official-sounding way for a medical professional to say "I don't know why you're sick."
Vocabulary lists containing idiopathic
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
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Disability Visibility
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Where Only Storms Grow
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s acquiring Centessa Pharmaceuticals, which is working on orexin receptor 2 agonists for conditions like narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia — forms of daytime sleepiness.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
When Ladd was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2023, she was told she might have only six months to live.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2025
Its first-generation candidate, ORX750, is aimed at treating three types of severe narcolepsy—type I, type II, and idiopathic hypersomnia.
From Barron's • Sep. 26, 2025
The radio legend was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a severe respiratory illness that can make breathing very difficult.
From BBC • Oct. 27, 2024
I once Googled “excessive blushing” and found out there’s a terrifying name for my condition: idiopathic craniofacial erythema.
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
